(CNN)-Call it a lovefest between a mogul and a McCain. In an interview for The Daily Beast on Thursday, possible GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump and the daughter of 2008 GOP presidential nominee John McCain expressed mutual affection for one another.

Meghan McCain, a columnist for The Daily Beast, asked the real estate mogul if she could be hired onto Trump's campaign, in case there is a campaign, to which Trump responded, "I love it!"FULL POST

(CNN)–A number of GOP presidential contenders have formed exploratory committees - allowing them to raise money and hire staff - to build a campaign infrastructure. Depending on how that paperwork was filed, some of them are technically already running for president.

However, many of these prospective candidates are purposefully being vague about whether they are actually planning to launch a full presidential campaign and how long they intend to explore their options. CNN Correspondent Lisa Sylvester looks at whether political games are being played.

WASHINGTON (CNN) - Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who is under an ethics investigation by the Senate, announced Thursday that he will resign his seat on May 3.

Ensign had previously said he would not run for re-election in 2012 following revelations that he had an affair with a female aide who was the wife of another top aide, and that his parents subsequently gave money to the aides' family.

Philadelphia (CNN) – In the suburbs of Philadelphia, freshman Congressman Patrick Meehan is spending his day running around his district, answering questions from his constituents. During the two week Congressional break, the Pennsylvania Republican is fitting in five different town hall meetings in just one day.

"We're heading down now into Radnor Township, which is the heart of Philadelphia's old main line. I represent a district that is very diverse," Meehan says as he drives down the highway from his first town hall at Upper Providence township to his second meeting of the morning.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Prodded by growing public frustration over sharply rising gasoline prices, the Justice Department on Thursday announced the formation of a team - the "Oil and Gas Price Fraud Working Group - tasked with the goal of ensuring consumers are not victims of price gouging.

Gas prices exceeding $4 per gallon or higher are "tough" for most Americans, President Barack Obama told an audience in Reno, Nevada. "We are going to make sure that no one is taking advantage of American consumers for their own short-term gain."

Washington (CNN) - The growing number of Republican presidential hopefuls face a long road to gain support and attention from their party and other Americans, according to a new poll.

Americans remain relatively unaware of the various potential 2012 GOP candidates, according to results from a Pew Research Center survey released Wednesday. The survey found that more than half of Americans cannot name a single GOP presidential candidate.FULL POST

(CNN)- Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee has a bone to pick with Glenn Beck. The current Fox News host isn't pleased that Beck, a departing Fox News host, has called him a progressive, a term which Beck has also previously likened to cancer and the Nazi movement.

Beck also compared Huckabee to Arizona GOP Sen. John McCain on his radio show Tuesday, labeling both as progressives, because of Huckabee's vocal support for Michelle Obama's anti-obesity initiatives.FULL POST